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A California startup called Zipline International has announced a partnership with the government of Rwanda to use its fixed-wing cargo drones to deliver medical supplies to remote health clinics in the East African nation. (April 4)

More than two billion people lack adequate access to essential medical products, often due to challenging terrain and gaps in infrastructure. Because of this, over 2.9 million children under age five die every year. And up to 150,000 pregnancy-related deaths could be avoided each year if mothers had reliable access to safe blood.

Through a partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Zipline will deliver all blood products for twenty hospitals and health centers starting this summer, improving access to healthcare for millions of Rwandans.

Just another routine aerial delivery of life-saving blood to Muhororo District Hospital in Rwanda!

Through a partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Zipline delivers all blood products for twenty hospitals and health centers across the country, improving access to healthcare for millions of Rwandans.

This time lapse was captured today by Zip. Zip is our small robot airplane designed for a high level of safety, using many of the same approaches as commercial airliners. It can carry vaccines, medicine, or blood. Our fleet of Zips provides for a population of millions. No roads, no problem!

The journey to get this blood to Muhororo District Hospital would have taken over three hours by car, but instead took fewer than 15 minutes by Zip.

In this video, you can see why Rwanda is commonly called the Land of a Thousand Hills. Zip transits safely above the hills, then descends for delivery in a spiraling helix. After delivery, Zip passes under a thunderhead and powers through a passing rainstorm.

Keenan Wyrobek is Head of Product and Engineering at Zipline International, a start-up that focuses on delivering medical necessities by drone to remote and challenging locations.

Abstract:
Zipline International designs, manufactures, and operates small robot aircraft to deliver lifesaving medical supplies. With Zipline, all citizens can have fast and reliable access to lifesaving medical products like blood, vaccines, and essential medicines, regardless of challenging terrain and road infrastructure. In October 2016, the company launched the world's first drone delivery service in Rwanda, where the government hired them to make routine and emergency deliveries of blood to hospitals across the country.

As Co-founder and Head of Product & Engineering at Zipline, Keenan Wyrobek works to design, build, and deploy drones that deliver life-saving medical supplies to some of the most difficult-to-reach places on earth. Tune in to Keenan’s 2017 TEDMED Talk to learn how this self-professed geek is engineering new solutions for global health problems and improving healthcare for millions.